2021 marks 100 years since the launch of Chanel No. 5 – the first perfume created by French couturier Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.
Launched on May 5th, 1921 in Coco Chanel’s boutique on the Rue Cambon in Paris, the iconic fragrance immediately revolutionised the perfume industry, forever changing the ways in which beauty brands and fashion houses looked at creating and marketing their products.
A century on from its release, the perfume remains one of the worlds most adored scents, with its simplicity and timeless elegance, favoured by women of all ages.
No. 5, 100 years of celebrity — Inside CHANEL
In celebration of its 100th anniversary, here are 5 things you need to know about Chanel No.5.
The creation…
It was back in 1921 when Coco Chanel first enlisted the talents of Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux to help her in her quest to create a brand new fragrance that would best represent modern, career-driven women. Her one prerequisite to Beaux was her unwavering desire to offer customers something that went beyond the more traditional perfumes available at the time, stating she wanted “an artificial fragrance like a dress, something crafted. I am a seamstress. I don’t want rose or lily-of-the-valley, I want a composed fragrance.”
The power of 5…
It is said the reason Chanel chose “No. 5” as the name for the fragrance, was due to the fact she picked the fifth sample Beaux presented her, as her favourite.
However, as fans of the formidable style icon will know, its numerical significance runs much deeper as Gabrielle was a woman fascinated by signs and symbols, and had long chosen the figure as her lucky charm, going as far as to set it as the date she presented her new collections. She is quoted as saying: “I present my dress collections on the fifth of May, the fifth month of the year and so we will let this sample number five keep the name it has already, it will bring good luck.”
It’s all in the scent…
Whilst it takes one tonne of flowers to create 1 1/2 kilograms of the ‘absolute’ (a concentrated, highly aromatic oil used in perfumery), a further 80 ingredients are used to create the formula for No. 5, with extracts of ylang-ylang, neroli, rose, jasmine, sandalwood, bourbon vetiver and vanilla all permeated together to create the beautifully fragrant, and timeless scent we all know and love today.
Lights, camera, action…
Shot in 1969 by American fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon, the first ever Chanel No. 5 scripted commercial was filmed on location in New York City. Despite only being several seconds long, the clip broke records for being the most expensive TV advert ever produced at that time.
Famous fans…
Throughout the decades a whole host of celebrities, including Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba, Nicole Kidman, Cameron Diaz and Claudia Schiffer, have all spoken of their love for the fragrance. However, perhaps the perfume’s most famous fan was screen legend Marilyn Monroe, who when once asked what she wore to bed, famously replied: “I only wear Chanel No. 5.”
Philip Logan
